Bitcoin Slips Below $74K on Nvidia News and Regulatory Jitters, Wiping Out $1B in Positions

Bitcoin traded around $74,700 early Monday after dropping to $73,477 overnight — a level not seen since August — before recovering, according to Bitcoin Magazine Pro.

The leading cryptocurrency fell over 2% during the night, reaching $73,477, its lowest point since August. Purchasers quickly intervened, lifting the price back above $75,000, but the recovery lost steam and bitcoin settled near $74,700 as New York markets opened.

Nvidia probe and Iran talks disrupt weekend trading

Cryptocurrencies were the only major market open when two key stories broke. Nvidia faced an internal inquiry into whether foreign intelligence efforts targeted CEO Jensen Huang, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio described Iranian demands as outrageous after negotiations stalled.

Nvidia serves as a bellwether for the AI trade that has underpinned risk assets throughout the year, prompting traders to view the news as a risk to the broader sector. Over $1 billion in leveraged crypto positions were liquidated within 24 hours, with roughly $913 million of that from long positions, turning a routine dip into a sharp selloff.

Equity markets opened more calmly. U.S. index futures sought a rebound as bargain hunters moved in, with Dow futures rising 0.73%, S&P 500 futures adding 0.40% and Nasdaq 100 futures climbing 0.21% at 5:10 a.m. ET. Nvidia shares dropped 4.5% in premarket trading, Reuters reported, and other chipmakers slid after the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index posted its steepest weekly loss since March 2025.

That divergence mirrors Friday's action, when bitcoin's response to a strong jobs report showed crypto sitting out an equities rally. It also echoes the tech rout that erased leveraged long positions last Thursday.

Regulation concerns and ETF withdrawals pressure bitcoin

Washington is also a factor. Reuters linked the weekend decline to worries that a Democratic-controlled Congress will tighten cryptocurrency oversight, following last week's midterm elections and the $6 billion Binance hack.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a prominent crypto critic, is expected to take the helm of the Senate Banking Committee. TD Cowen has cautioned that the Democratic sweep makes a crypto-backed CLARITY Act nearly impossible, while House Democrats are crafting their own market structure bill that would give the SEC a larger role.

Institutional investors are also showing caution. U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs saw $1.28 billion exit last week, marking their second consecutive week of redemptions and the worst since late June. Those withdrawals help explain why bitcoin failed to join the equity rebound.

What the market watches next

Tuesday's October consumer price data is the next milestone. Economists forecast headline inflation rising 0.3% month-over-month, slowing from September's 0.6%, and futures pricing indicates roughly an 80% probability of a Federal Reserve rate hike at the Dec. 8-9 meeting following the strong October jobs report.

Options traders are preparing for further volatility. One-week implied volatility for bitcoin has climbed to around 43% from about 33% on Thursday, and four of the six most active bitcoin contracts are puts with strike prices spanning $70,000 to $72,000.

On the technical chart, bitcoin sits between support from its 200-day moving average near $73,150 and resistance from its 100-day average near $77,430, according to weekend market analysis. A close below the lower support could put August lows back in play, while a move toward $77,000 would require a calmer Nvidia story and softer inflation figures.

As of this writing, bitcoin is around $74,700.